Setting the Sails of the Bay Area’s Maritime Community

kkmidefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/articles/kkmi_092512_878x494.jpg|Man in white suit painting boat|Setting the Sails of the Bay Area’s Maritime Community ||

BANK OF AMERICARTP- SAN DIEGO-KKMI- As Produced Video Transcript

SUPER: Kenneth Keefe. President/Owner, KKMI

Kenneth Keefe: KKMI is about delivering excellent value, in the highest quality repairs and modifications to boats anywhere in the world.

SUPER: Paul Kaplan, CEO

Paul Kaplan: It doesn’t really matter whether you have a large boat or a small boat, commercial boat or recreational boat, we want to be able to take care of all the systems that exist on your boat.

Kenneth Keefe: Certainly one of the strengths of KKMI, are the quality craftsmen we have. These craftsmen are fine metal workers, excellent wood workers,

Paul Kaplan: …To folks that have been learning the newest technology so that we can put a satellite communication system on the boat, and a customer can be in the middle of the ocean and send a video of catching a fish to his grandkids ashore.

Kenneth Keefe: At KKMI we had a dream to be able to work on boats. We know every aspect to repairing boats. The problem that we had, is to repair boats and do a first-class job, and create good value for each client, we needed a certain set of machinery. And we need a facility that allows us to do this.

Paul Kaplan: It’s a hard business to break into. You can’t just open up a maritime service facility in the foothills of the sierras. You’ve got to be on the waterfront. And waterfront property is not only hard to come by, it’s very expensive.

SUPER: Claudio Cipolinna, Business Banking, Bank of America

Claudio Cipolinna: Back in 1996, KKMI came to us, and well we gave them their first SBA loan to purchase the property that we now sit on. They were able to grow this business, they saw an opportunity at a boat yard over in Sausalito, and that’s where we were able to help them in 2009.

V/O(Paul Kaplan): We could not and would not have started our new location in Sausalito without the support and assistance from Bank of America.

Claudio Cipolinna: They use a variety of services with us. Everything from cash management, to working capital lines, equipment financing

SUPER: Cindy Revel, CFO, KKMI

Cindy Revel: Merchant services, credit cards, even foreign exchange so we can buy parts for boats from all over the world. Bank of America’s small business banking department has been wonderful for us. Because we actually just have one primary contact within the bank, who helps us access all those services.

Paul Kaplan: Running a business isn’t a lot different than sailing a boat. We really wanna get something accomplished. If we all pull on that same rope, we can get a lot more done. And there’s never been an occasion with Bank of America from where I felt like we’re not pulling on that same rope to get our boat to go as fast as it can.

Setting the Sails of the Bay Area’s Maritime Community/en-us/partnering-locally/kkmi.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402Setting the Sails of the Bay Area’s Maritime Community/en-us/partnering-locally/kkmi.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

The San Francisco Bay Area is surrounded by beautiful bay waters and the Pacific Ocean where a community of boating enthusiasts from beginners to experts enjoy their favorite recreational pastime 12 months out of the year.

Paul Kaplan and Ken Keefe, Bay Area natives and the founders of Keefe Kaplan Maritime (KKMI), have been passionate about boats and sailing since their teens. Paul studied marine biology and worked part time as a yacht broker while Ken grew up in and around boats and participated in several America’s Cup races. Naturally, the two men also shared a commitment to the environment and water management.

Paul and Ken first joined forces in the 1990s, launching a business that answered the need for reliable maintenance and repair services for boating vessels – commercial and recreational, big and small – in the Bay Area. KKMI’s vision was to grow a business and establish a facility to repair boats with top craftsmanship at a great value – all the while being environmentally friendly and conscious. And as they grew, they needed a financial services provider to help them buoy their success.

“Bank of America worked hard and fast to understand our business,” said KKMI President Paul Kaplan. “As a small business and in relatively uncommon market, we needed everything from lines of credit, to lending, to purchase land at new locations, equipment lease lines, merchant services, credit cards, even foreign exchanges to buy boat parts from all over the world. It’s really hard to find all those services from any bank and through one great local client manager, we’re able to access everything.”

KKMI currently employ 54 employees at two distinct locations: their first in Point Richmond, which enjoys the deepest water channel allowing larger boats and yachts to be serviced, and the second in Sausalito which primarily serves smaller boating needs. The Sausalito boatyard was an old, abandoned property – a ground up, build out project. The partners developed a plan, hired local tradesmen to facilitate the job, and turned to Bank of America for innovative and quick financing solutions to make their plan a reality.

“We would not have started our newest location in Sausalito without the support and assistance from Bank of America,” Paul added, “More than just funding, they provide us with the tools to forecast where we might go in the future to grow. I’m continuously impressed at how such a big organization as Bank of America, has been able to bring such a small business feel to our relationship over all these years.”

Today, KKMI is a recognized leader in the local boat repair industry in the San Francisco Bay Area with superior knowledge and a skilled crew – “advocates through the entire boating experience.” Dedicated to their clients as well as the community they live and work in, KKMI has been recognized as stewards of the environment and by the California Water Environmental Association Small Industry of the Year twice in the last 10 years.

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